Startup Directory

USA

645 Ventures is an early-stage investment fund focused on Internet and software companies. The fund invests in sectors such as online marketplaces, data analytics, e-commerce, and SaaS software. Portfolio companies include Poshly, Trendalytics, Rifiniti, and Keaton Row. 645 Ventures was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New York city

Venture Lab is an investment initiative that drives financial inclusion globally. We invest capital in and provide support to innovative fintech start-ups that increase access to, improve the quality of, or reduce the cost of financial services for the underserved at scale.

We are particularly interested in technology and business model innovation as well as new approaches that help underserved people and small businesses benefit from the world’s formal economy. We look for models leveraging new technologies (e.g., blockchain and distributed ledger, digital ID and full stack infrastructure), newly digitized forms of data (e.g., social media, digital transaction footprints) and new analytical tools (e.g., machine learning). We also look for innovative customer engagement models that create meaningful and delightful user experiences. We are excited about new approaches that focus on financial health and building financial capabilities.

Since early-stage startups traditionally lack access to capital and assistance, Venture Lab provides flexible financial and non-financial support to adress the needs of our portfolio, including:

Investment: We will typically invest U.S. $300,000 to $500,000 in equity or quasi-equity instruments as part of the first institutional round of capital for seed-stage startups. We welcome opportunities to co-invest with like-minded investors and often build syndicates to channel capital into promising opportunities. We continue to support companies as they grow through follow-on capital that drives scale.
Support: Venture Lab is an active and engaged investor, providing investees with strategic and operational support across a broad range of business areas. We do this through governance, often in the form of a board role, as well as through our portfolio engagement function, which consists of an in-house team that works closely with portfolio companies in the areas of growth strategy, customer insights, product and pricing, process and operations, and human capital. In addition to day-to-day support from the Venture Lab team, investee companies may get connected to Accion’s technical experts (technology, risk management, etc.), microfinance teams and customers from partner institutions around the world, and the global banking and investing community.

Message from the Founder:
When I was first introduced to computer programming, as a freshman in Electrical Engineering, Fortran and Pascal were the popular languages for newbies in computing and the Apple Macintosh was the new kid on the block. I remember being excited by the prospects, and looked forward to embarking on a rich and rewarding career after college.

But I also recall, as I pursued my studies, feeling culturally isolated: few of my classmates looked like me. While we shared similar aspirations and many good times, there’s much to be said for making any challenging journey with people of the same cultural background.

Much has changed since my college days, but there’s still a dearth of African-American women in science, technology, engineering and math professions, an absence that cannot be explained by, say, a lack of interest in these fields. Lack of access and lack of exposure to STEM topics are the likelier culprits.

By launching Black Girls Code, I hope to provide young and pre-teen girls of color opportunities to learn in-demand skills in technology and computer programming at a time when they are naturally thinking about what they want to be when they grow up.

That, really, is the Black Girls Code mission: to introduce programming and technology to a new generation of coders, coders who will become builders of technological innovation and of their own futures.

Imagine the impact that these curious, creative minds could have on the world with the guidance and encouragement others take for granted.

We started this site because we found that we were visiting about 50-80 different sites a day just to satisfy our thirst for news of all sorts like tech, gossip, fashion and off beat news.

Hence we bring you BooredatWork.com, a place where we source news off the beaten track, as well as main stream gossip just for you, combined with the best devices reviews you will ever see!!!! Here you will find news on Android devices, celebrities, 3D TV’s, Tiger Woods, Movies, Trailers as well as funny and offbeat videos.

Let us be your boored at work site!

“Boored at work? Find all the latest news, gossip, latest Tech gadgets, movie ratings, funny videos and games. This is the site your boss will love to hate cuz he’ll be on there too! We all get boored at work, so let us entertain you!

Bryant Stibel was founded in 2013 to provide strategic, financial and operational support to entrepreneurs and their companies, with a focus on the convergence of technology, media and data (TMD), as well as in industries such as sports and wellness, where TMD has the potential to create massive opportunities.

The Bryant Stibel platform is unique in that it combines the creative vision of Kobe Bryant, one of the world’s most well-known and respected sports icons, with Jeff Stibel, a proven market-driven operator and entrepreneur.

The firm has participated in 15 transactions since its inception. The team has collectively participated in over 50 transactions across diverse industries and sectors.

Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant has been a General Partner of Bryant Stibel since 2013. Bryant is a five-time National Basketball Association champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and CEO of Kobe Inc. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a NBA Most Valuable Player, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, a 15-time All-NBA player, an 18-time NBA All-Star and the NBA’s No. 3 all-time scoring leader. Since 2003, Bryant has partnered with Nike, playing a leadership role designing his footwear and leading storytelling related to Kobe Bryant product lines. In 2006, he launched the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation to give young people access to sports, mentorship and economic empowerment. In 2009, he partnered with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation to create the Kobe China Fund, dedicated to the welfare and education of youth in China. Historically Bryant has invested in entrepreneurial companies that share in his vision to build athletic excellence. In 2013, Bryant formed Kobe Inc., a multimedia content creation company focused on helping athletes learn the process of excellence and maximizing potential. Its first project through its Kobe Studios division, Bryant created and executive produced the documentary, Kobe Bryant’s Muse, which debuted in February 2015.

Jeff Stibel
Jeff Stibel has been a General Partner of Bryant Stibel since 2013. Stibel is an entrepreneur and brain scientist and is currently the Vice Chairman of Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB). He is the New York Times bestselling author of two books, Breakpoint (Macmillan: 2013) and Wired for Thought (Harvard Press: 2009). Stibel was previously President & CEO of The Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corporation and Web.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: WWWW). He currently sits on the boards of a number of private and public companies, as well as academic boards for Tufts University and Brown University. Stibel was the recipient of a Brain and Behavior Fellowship while studying for a PhD at Brown University and received an honorary Doctorate from Pepperdine University.

Our collective team includes public and private company executives with considerable experience running and growing companies. We believe that while capital plays an important part of any investor’s role, strategic and operational guidance can be even more valuable. As seasoned operators, the Bryant Stibel team is uniquely qualified to help companies looking for strategic guidance.

digitalundivided (DID) is a social enterprise that develop programs and forward thinking initiatives that increase the number of urban entrepreneurs, especially women, in the digital space. At digitalundivided, we focus on making sure urban communities are prepared to actively participate in the new economy through our evidence- based digitalundivided (DID) tech model. The DID tech model (START, GROW, FOCUS, INVEST) is a model we developed after numerous interviews and group meetings with urban entrepreneurs around the country, that represents an entrepreneurial path organic to urban communities. Entrepreneurs START with an idea, then GROW that idea into a company, with FOCUS the idea become a business ready for funding and partnerships, the success of the business allows us to then INVEST in other communities or START again with a new idea.

Innclusive.com is a site for short-term rental lodging similar to Airbnb. After reading all the stories of racial discrimination on Airbnb, Our founders created Noirebnb(Now called Innclusive.com) to establish a more inclusive platform for all races. Founders of Innclusive want users of to feel comfortable with who they are and not run the risk of being discriminated against. The goal is to create a safe place where everyone can feel welcomed and be able to travel and see the world with dignity.

Members of the Black, Latin/Hispanic, and Native American communities remain underrepresented in many prominent industries.

LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY
It is difficult to connect with companies and their HR teams, even when a company places a strong emphasis on diversity.
LIMITED EXPOSURE
Many individuals lack exposure to the breadth of available roles and opportunities in the workplace.
TIME CONSTRAINTS
Individuals have limited time and energy, which can make it difficult to commit to time-consuming minority career programs.
UNDERSTANDING YOU
A resume simply doesn’t capture your whole story; there’s more to you than a one-page document.

Kernel Fund is an Angel fund that invests seed capital in early stage companies with high growth potential. Our goal is to provide seed capital and strategic advisory resources to early-stage companies that focus on using technology to fill significant economic and infrastructure gaps for consumers and enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa.
We are a group of seasoned technology practitioners and investors with deep experience in building technology startups, technology strategy, marketing, M&A and finance. Our team brings a wealth of experience to the table as business owners and individuals with rich careers in established technology firms such as Dell, Amazon & Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, etc. Our experience spans the USA, Europe and Africa in terms of professional and investment experience.

The name Kopo Kopo comes from kobboh kobboh, the Krio word for money. We owe our name to our pilot project in Sierra Leone. From our learnings in Sierra Leone and Kenya in early 2011, we were inspired to create a world-class platform to enable small and medium businesses to accept mobile payments and build relationships with their customers.
Kopo Kopo launched its core platform in Kenya in February 2012. We have recently partnered with Safaricom to bring the M-PESA Buy Goods service to small and medium businesses throughout Kenya and, today, we serve hundreds of businesses from salons to restaurants to office supply stores.